AP National Business

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian telco Telstra has partnered with the Australian government in a $1.6 billion deal to buy the South Pacific operations of Digicel in a deal that would prevent a key part of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure from falling into Chinese hands. Telstra said in a statement

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Toyota says it’s testing hydrogen combustion engines in race cars as it works toward using the technology in commercial products. The engines burn hydrogen as fuel instead of gasoline, much like rockets. The Japanese automaker said testing the technology in race cars in Japan will allow

By LISA MASCARO and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill is drawing the backing of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. A person who insisted on anonymity to discuss Manchin’s position tells The Associated

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s business economists are slightly less optimistic about growth prospects over the next year. They note a number of threats ranging from higher-than-expected inflation to lingering disruptions from COVID-19 and snarled supply chains. The National Association for Business Economics released a new report Monday that

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rose Monday after Wall Street slipped and China tightened travel controls in some areas in response to coronavirus infections. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced while London and Frankfurt opened higher. Tokyo declined. On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 index and the

BEIJING (AP) — A northwestern Chinese province heavily dependent on tourism has closed all tourist sites after finding new COVID-19 cases. Gansu lies along the ancient Silk Road and is famed for the Dunhuang grottoes filled with Buddhist images and other religious sites. China counted 35 new cases Monday, four of them in Gansu. China

By LISA MASCARO and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin appears to be on board with White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill. A person who requested anonymity to discuss Manchin’s position tells The Associated

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that a fifth National’s party minister will join his Cabinet as part of deal to cement the junior coalition partner’s support for a national target of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. The National party’s in-principle support for the target

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spent hours Sunday at his home in Delaware with two pivotal senators as they seek to resolve the disputes over the Democrats’ wide-ranging social safety net and environmental bill. The White House calls Biden’s time with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An American Airlines plane traveling from New York to Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing in Wisconsin. An official with the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison says plane landed without incident about 2:19 p.m. Central time after reports of smoke in the cabin. The passengers and crew

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” debuted with $40.1 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North America, drawing enough moviegoers to see the thundering sci-fi epic on the big screen despite it also being available in homes. Last week’s top film, Universal Pictures’ horror sequel

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden brought two pivotal senators to his Delaware home on Sunday for talks aimed at resolving the disputes that have stymied the Democrats’ wide-ranging social safety net and environmental measure at the core of his domestic agenda. Beyond looming domestic deadlines, Biden is pressing for

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline spiked 13 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.44 per gallon. The price at the pump is $1.22 higher than a year ago. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday the rise comes as the cost of crude oil surges.

ROME (AP) — Italy’s economy ministry and UniCredit bank have announced that they are breaking off acquistion talks regarding an ailing Italian bank. Both the ministry and UniCredit didn’t cite a reason for pulling the plug on negotiations for Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank in a joint statement released Sunday evening. But Italian news

By AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA Associated Press TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — Uzbeks have voted in a presidential election that the incumbent is expected to win in a landslide against weak competition. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has relaxed many of the policies of his dictatorial predecessor. But he has made little effort at political reform. He took office in

By ALAN FRAM and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hosting two pivotal senators for meetings  in hopes of resolving lingering disputes over Democrats’ long-stalled effort to craft an expansive social and environment measure. The White House says the session with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Sen.

By JON GAMBRELL and LUJAIN JO Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Federal prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates say they’ve launched a major investigation into Dubai-based real estate developer Union Properties. A statement Sunday carried by the state-run WAM news agency said the investigation involved allegations of the firm selling property at

By AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA Associated Press TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — Uzbeks voted Sunday in a presidential election that the incumbent is expected to win in a landslide against weak competition. Although Shavkat Mirziyoyev has relaxed many of the policies of his dictatorial predecessor, he has made little effort at political reform. He took office in 2016

By KELVIN CHAN and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The term metaverse seems to be everywhere. Facebook is hiring thousands of engineers in Europe to work on it, while video game companies are outlining their long-term visions for what some consider the next big thing on the internet. Essentially, it’s a world of